194 Atlanta Airport Statistics for 2026

How many passengers use Atlanta airport each year?

Atlanta is the busiest passenger airport in the world and handles more than 100 million passengers in a normal year. Its record came in 2019, and its traffic dipped in 2025 after three years of recovery from the pandemic.

View data table

Passengers at ATL each calendar year, in millions, on the airport's own count. Each year comes from the December report for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2012	95.5m
2013	94.4m
2014	96.2m
2015	101.5m
2016	104.2m
2017	103.9m
2018	107.4m
2019	110.5m
2020	42.9m
2021	75.7m
2022	93.7m
2023	104.7m
2024	108.1m
2025	106.3m

• ATL handled 108,067,766 passengers in calendar 2024, up 3.26% on 2023. (ATL (Dec 2024 traffic report), Jan 2025)
• It handled 104,653,012 passengers in calendar 2023, up 11.69%. (ATL (Dec 2023 traffic report), Feb 2024)
• Passengers were 93,699,630 in calendar 2022, up 23.77%. (ATL (Dec 2022 traffic report), Jan 2023)
• In calendar 2021 ATL handled 75,704,760 passengers, up 76.39% on 2020. (ATL (Dec 2021 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• Passengers fell 61.17% to 42,918,685 in calendar 2020, the first year of the pandemic. (ATL (Dec 2020 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• ATL handled 110,531,300 passengers in calendar 2019, up 2.92%. (ATL (Dec 2019 traffic report), Feb 2020)
• It handled 107,394,029 passengers in calendar 2018, up 3.33%. (ATL (Dec 2018 traffic report), Feb 2019)
• Passengers dipped 0.23% to 103,934,417 in calendar 2017. (ATL (Dec 2017 traffic report), Apr 2018)
• ATL handled 104,171,935 passengers in calendar 2016, up 2.64%. (ATL (Dec 2016 traffic report), Feb 2017)
• Passengers rose 5.52% to 101,491,106 in calendar 2015, the first year above 100 million in the airport's reports from 2012 on. (ATL (Dec 2015 traffic report), Dec 2015)
• ATL handled 96,178,899 passengers in calendar 2014, up 1.85%. (ATL (Dec 2014 traffic report), Dec 2014)
• Passengers were 94,431,224 in calendar 2013, down 1.13% from 95,513,828 in 2012. (ATL (Dec 2013 traffic report), Dec 2013)
• Counted by fiscal year, July 2024 to June 2025, the airport served approximately 106.9 million arriving and departing passengers, down 0.5%. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• More than two million passengers passed through Atlanta's airport in 1955, when the Department of Aviation says it was the busiest in the US by aircraft activity. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

ATL counts passengers boarding and leaving flights (enplaned plus deplaned), domestic and international, by calendar year. Its reports are preliminary and are revised; the December report of each year carries the full-year figures. The 106.9 million is a fiscal-year figure from the City's accounts, July to June, and is not compared with the calendar-year counts.

Is Atlanta the busiest airport in the world?

Yes, by passengers. ACI World's releases put Atlanta first for passengers in every year since 2000 except 2020, when Guangzhou passed it. By aircraft movements it lost first place to Chicago O'Hare in 2025.

1. 1 Atlanta 106.3m
2. 2 Dubai 95.2m
3. 3 Tokyo Haneda 91.7m
4. 4 Dallas/Fort Worth 85.7m
5. 5 Shanghai Pudong 85.0m
6. 6 Chicago O'Hare 84.9m
7. 7 London Heathrow 84.5m
8. 8 Istanbul 84.4m
9. 9 Guangzhou 83.6m
10. 10 Denver 82.4m

• On ACI's figures Atlanta's 2025 traffic was 3.8% below 2019, and ACI said Dubai and Tokyo Haneda were continuing to close the gap. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
• Tokyo Haneda was third in the world in 2025 with 91,679,814 passengers, Dallas/Fort Worth fourth with 85,660,127 and Shanghai Pudong fifth with 84,994,548. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
• Chicago O'Hare (84,856,018), London Heathrow (84,482,126), Istanbul (84,437,710), Guangzhou (83,582,952) and Denver (82,427,962) were sixth to tenth. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
• O'Hare had 857,392 aircraft movements in 2025, up 10.5%, ending the run Atlanta had held at the top of ACI's movements ranking since 2020. (ACI World (2025 rankings), Jul 2026)
• ACI's preliminary 2025 list had four US airports in the world top 10, all with 80-95% domestic traffic. (ACI World (2025 preliminary rankings), Apr 2026)
• In 2023 Atlanta topped ACI's passenger ranking ahead of Dubai and Dallas/Fort Worth, and led for aircraft movements with 776,000, 85.8% of its 2019 level. (ACI World (2023 rankings), Jul 2024)
• In 2022 the four busiest airports in the world were all in the US: Atlanta, then Dallas/Fort Worth with 73.4 million passengers, Denver with 69.3 million and O'Hare with 68.3 million. (ACI World (2022 rankings), Apr 2023)
• Atlanta returned to first place in 2021, with traffic still 31.5% below 2019, ahead of Dallas/Fort Worth with 62.5 million passengers. (ACI World (2021 rankings), Apr 2022)
• In 2020 Atlanta fell to second for passengers behind Guangzhou, but moved to first for aircraft movements, overtaking O'Hare. (ACI World (2020 rankings), Apr 2021)
• ACI said Atlanta had been the world leader for passenger traffic since 2000 before it ceded the top spot in 2020. (ACI World (traffic report 2021), Nov 2021)
• The Department of Aviation says ACI named ATL the 2024 Best Airport in North America. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

ACI World counts total passengers, arriving and departing, with transit passengers counted once, and aircraft movements as landings plus take-offs. Its 2025 passenger total for Atlanta is the same as the airport's own, but its 807,625 movements differ from the airport's count of aircraft operations, shown in the flights section. ACI's 2022 and 2021 figures come from its preliminary April releases.

How busy is Atlanta airport in 2026?

Passenger numbers in 2026 are just below 2025. More flights are running than a year ago, but each month from May to August carried fewer passengers than in 2025, and international traffic has fallen slightly.

View data table

Passengers at ATL each month of 2026, in millions, on the airport's own count. Each month comes from the report for that month; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
Jan	7.59m
Feb	7.61m
Mar	8.89m
Apr	8.86m
May	9.52m
Jun	9.48m
Jul	9.76m
Aug	9.21m

• From January to August 2026 ATL handled 60,916,040 domestic passengers, down 0.41%, and 10,018,513 international passengers, down 1.94%. (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• In August 2026 ATL handled 9,214,729 passengers, down 0.88%, and 69,308 aircraft operations, up 3.16%. (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• July 2026 was the busiest month of the year so far, with 9,760,810 passengers, 2.25% fewer than in July 2025. (ATL (Jul 2026 traffic report), Aug 2026)
• ATL handled 9,483,344 passengers in June 2026, down 1.36%. (ATL (Jun 2026 traffic report), Aug 2026)
• May 2026 passengers were 9,524,344, down 1.09%. (ATL (May 2026 traffic report), Aug 2026)
• April 2026 passengers rose 0.67% to 8,860,734. (ATL (Apr 2026 traffic report), Aug 2026)
• March 2026 passengers fell 1.51% to 8,888,076. (ATL (Mar 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• February 2026 passengers rose 1.65% to 7,612,948. (ATL (Feb 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• January 2026 passengers rose 0.63% to 7,589,568. (ATL (Jan 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• In calendar 2025 July was ATL's busiest month, with 9,985,635 passengers, up 6.48%, and 71,808 aircraft operations. (ATL (Jul 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• February was the quietest month of calendar 2025, with 7,489,579 passengers. (ATL (Feb 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• November 2025 passengers fell 6.47% to 8,126,030. (ATL (Nov 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• December 2025 passengers fell 4.35% to 8,680,098, aircraft operations fell 1.53% to 67,331, and the airport handled 54,200 tonnes of cargo. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)

All figures in this section are ATL's own calendar-month counts, preliminary and subject to revision. The September 2026 report was not out when this page was reviewed. ATL's reports give no reasons for changes from month to month.

How many ATL passengers are domestic, and where do flights go?

Most Atlanta passengers fly within the US, but international traffic is a growing share. International passengers in 2025 were the most in the airport's reports since 2012 while domestic passengers fell, and international travel has recovered from the pandemic faster than domestic travel.

View data table

International passengers at ATL each calendar year, in millions, on the airport's own count. Each year comes from the December report for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2012	9.85m
2013	10.26m
2014	10.78m
2015	11.23m
2016	11.48m
2017	12.07m
2018	12.50m
2019	12.66m
2020	3.26m
2021	5.68m
2022	9.97m
2023	12.83m
2024	14.63m
2025	14.86m

• ATL handled 91,437,847 domestic passengers in calendar 2025, down 2.14%, and 14,864,361 international passengers, up 1.60%. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• International passengers rose 14.04% to 14,629,580 in calendar 2024, while domestic passengers rose 1.76% to 93,438,186. (ATL (Dec 2024 traffic report), Jan 2025)
• International passengers rose 28.73% to 12,828,194 in calendar 2023. (ATL (Dec 2023 traffic report), Feb 2024)
• International passengers rose 75.47% to 9,965,396 in calendar 2022. (ATL (Dec 2022 traffic report), Jan 2023)
• International passengers fell 74.27% to 3,255,710 in calendar 2020. (ATL (Dec 2020 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• In calendar 2019 ATL handled 97,876,006 domestic and 12,655,294 international passengers. (ATL (Dec 2019 traffic report), Feb 2020)
• International passengers were 9,854,343 in calendar 2012 and 10,258,133 in 2013, up 4.10%. (ATL (Dec 2013 traffic report), Dec 2013)
• International passengers made up 14.0% of passengers boarding at ATL in fiscal 2026 (July 2025 to June 2026), at 7,414,168, against 7.0% in fiscal 2000, according to the City's 2026 bond disclosure. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The same disclosure says international boardings in fiscal 2026 were 17.6% above fiscal 2019, when they were 11.6% of all boardings. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The City's airport consultant ranked ATL sixth among US airports for international passengers boarding in calendar 2025. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• July 2026 schedules had 1,007 average daily domestic departures from ATL to 132 US destinations. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• 18 airlines, Delta, Frontier and 16 foreign airlines, were scheduled to run 125 daily international departures with 26,308 seats to 73 destinations from ATL in July 2026. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Europe had 33% of ATL's international seats in July 2026 schedules, the Caribbean 21%, Mexico and Central America 17%, Canada and South America 8% each, Asia 5%, the Middle East 4% and Africa 3%. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)

Passenger counts here are ATL's calendar-year totals of arriving and departing passengers. The fiscal-year shares count passengers boarding only, July to June, from the City's 2026 bond disclosure, and are not compared with the calendar-year counts. Seat and departure figures are July 2026 schedules, not passengers.

How many ATL passengers are connecting?

Atlanta is the largest connecting airport in the US. More than half of the people who board a flight there are changing planes, almost all of them on Delta, though the connecting share is lower than its peak around 2010.

View data table

Share of passengers boarding at ATL who were connecting, by fiscal year (July to June), from the City of Atlanta's 2026 bond disclosure.

Period	Value
FY2000	60.9%
FY2005	65.7%
FY2009	68.5%
FY2010	68.7%
FY2015	68.1%
FY2019	60.8%
FY2021	56.7%
FY2025	58.1%

• In fiscal 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025) connecting passengers were 69% of those boarding Delta flights at ATL and 26% of those boarding Southwest flights. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The City puts connecting passengers at 31,046,519 of the 53,399,519 passengers boarding at ATL in fiscal 2025; originating passengers are estimated from US DOT ticket data. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The connecting share was 60.9% in fiscal 2000, peaked at 68.7% in fiscal 2010, fell to 60.8% in fiscal 2019 and 56.7% in fiscal 2021, and was 59.4% from July to December 2025. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• In calendar 2025 ATL was the busiest US airport for connecting passengers, with 31.0 million, 8.4 million (37%) more than Dallas/Fort Worth, but it ranked only sixth for originating passengers. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Delta and its regional partners boarded 93.9% of ATL's connecting passengers in fiscal 2025. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)

All figures in this section come from the City of Atlanta's 2026 bond disclosure and its airport consultant's report, and count passengers when they board. Fiscal years run July to June; the 31.0 million is a calendar-2025 estimate and is not the same count as the fiscal-year figure.

How big is Delta at Atlanta?

Atlanta is Delta Air Lines' busiest hub by far, and Delta and its regional partners carry about four in five ATL passengers. Delta has taken a larger share of the airport's seats since 2010 and now flies bigger planes there.

• Delta mainline 73.8%
• Frontier 9.2%
• Delta Connection 5.6%
• Southwest 4.5%
• Other airlines 6.9%

• Delta's regional partners added more ATL passengers in calendar 2025: Endeavor Air 4,208,860 (3.96%), SkyWest flying as Delta 929,872 and Republic flying as Delta 23,920. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Delta carried 53,699,858 passengers at ATL from January to August 2026, 75.70% of the total, and Endeavor Air 2,975,363 (4.19%). (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• Delta and its regional affiliates boarded 79.4% of ATL's passengers in fiscal 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025). (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• In fiscal 2026 (July 2025 to June 2026) the Delta group boarded 36,726,203 domestic and 5,716,068 international passengers at ATL. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Delta mainline had 73.8% of ATL's domestic departing seats in July 2026 schedules, up from 55.8% in 2010, while Delta Connection fell to 5.6% from 19.4%. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• 21.1% of Delta's departing seats worldwide were on flights from ATL in July 2026, and its 142,997 average daily seats there were close to the 154,848 at its next four hubs combined: Minneapolis-St Paul, Detroit, Salt Lake City and New York JFK. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Delta scheduled 19,740 daily international departing seats from ATL in July 2026, 71% more than from New York JFK (11,558) and nearly four times Detroit (5,063). (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Delta's July 2026 seats at ATL were 15% more than United scheduled at Chicago O'Hare, the second busiest US airline hub. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Average seats per Delta and Delta Connection departure at ATL rose from 115.7 in July 2010 to 157.5 in July 2026, as Delta Connection's share of Delta's ATL seats fell from 25.8% to 6.5%. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)

Calendar-year passenger shares come from ATL's traffic reports and count Delta mainline apart from its regional partners. The 79.4% is a fiscal-year share of passengers boarding, from the City's bond disclosure, and includes Delta Connection. Seat shares are July 2026 schedules. These measure different things and are not compared.

Which other airlines fly from Atlanta?

Frontier is now Atlanta's second airline by passengers. Southwest has shrunk sharply at ATL since 2012, Spirit stopped flying in May 2026, and foreign airlines carry a small share of passengers.

1. 1 Frontier 5.21m
2. 2 Southwest 4.97m
3. 3 Endeavor Air (Delta) 4.21m
4. 4 Spirit 2.40m
5. 5 American 2.19m
6. 6 United 1.88m
7. 7 SkyWest (Delta) 0.93m
8. 8 JetBlue 0.57m
9. 9 Alaska 0.46m
10. 10 Air France 0.42m

• Frontier carried 5,214,164 ATL passengers in calendar 2025 (4.91%) and Southwest 4,972,476 (4.68%), on the airport's carrier table. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Spirit carried 2,400,347 ATL passengers in calendar 2025 (2.26%), American 2,189,532 (2.06%), United 1,881,370 (1.77%), JetBlue 574,246 and Alaska 458,668. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• The largest foreign airlines at ATL in calendar 2025 were Air France with 416,479 passengers, WestJet with 366,600, Virgin Atlantic with 327,980 and KLM with 304,774. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Turkish Airlines carried 239,463 ATL passengers in calendar 2025, Qatar Airways 218,047, Korean Air 212,553 and Aeromexico 185,121. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• From January to August 2026 Frontier carried 4,896,864 ATL passengers (6.90%), Southwest 2,457,927 (3.47%), American 1,463,667, United 1,284,465 (1.81%) and Spirit 503,941 (0.71%). (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• Spirit Airlines ceased all operations in May 2026. In July 2025 it had flown about 22 daily flights from ATL to 19 US destinations, 3.0% of the airport's domestic seats. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Southwest has cut its departing seats at ATL by 66% since 2012, and its share of domestic boardings fell from 16.2% in fiscal 2010 to 3.9% in fiscal 2026. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Foreign airlines boarded 1,536,063 passengers at ATL in fiscal 2026. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)

Calendar-year passenger counts and shares come from ATL's traffic reports and count each airline's own flights; regional airlines flying for American and United are listed separately in those reports and are not added here. Fiscal-year boardings come from the City's bond disclosure. The January to August 2026 shares cover a different period from the 2025 shares.

How many flights does Atlanta airport handle?

Atlanta handles about 800,000 take-offs and landings a year, fewer than in the 2000s. Airlines now fly bigger planes, so the airport carries more passengers on fewer flights than it did in 2012.

View data table

Aircraft operations at ATL each calendar year, in thousands, on the airport's own count. Each year comes from the December report for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2012	930.3k
2013	911.1k
2014	868.4k
2015	882.5k
2016	898.4k
2017	880.3k
2018	895.7k
2019	904.3k
2020	548.0k
2021	707.7k
2022	724.1k
2023	775.8k
2024	796.2k
2025	805.3k

• ATL counted 805,268 aircraft operations in calendar 2025, up 1.14%. Domestic airline flights made up 708,136, air taxis 7,553, general aviation 7,056 and the military 193, and international airline flights 82,330, up 2.05%. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Aircraft operations rose 2.63% to 796,224 in calendar 2024. (ATL (Dec 2024 traffic report), Jan 2025)
• They rose 7.14% to 775,818 in calendar 2023. (ATL (Dec 2023 traffic report), Feb 2024)
• Operations were 724,145 in calendar 2022, up 2.33%. (ATL (Dec 2022 traffic report), Jan 2023)
• Operations rose 29.13% to 707,661 in calendar 2021. (ATL (Dec 2021 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• Operations fell 39.40% to 548,016 in calendar 2020. (ATL (Dec 2020 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• ATL had 904,301 aircraft operations in calendar 2019, up 0.96%. (ATL (Dec 2019 traffic report), Feb 2020)
• It had 895,682 in calendar 2018, up 1.74%. (ATL (Dec 2018 traffic report), Feb 2019)
• Operations fell 2.01% to 880,342 in calendar 2017. (ATL (Dec 2017 traffic report), Apr 2018)
• Operations were 898,356 in calendar 2016, up 1.80%. (ATL (Dec 2016 traffic report), Feb 2017)
• Operations were 882,497 in calendar 2015, up 1.63% on 2014. (ATL (Dec 2015 traffic report), Dec 2015)
• Operations fell 4.69% to 868,359 in calendar 2014. (ATL (Dec 2014 traffic report), Dec 2014)
• ATL had 930,310 aircraft operations in calendar 2012, the most in any of its December reports from 2012 to 2025, and 911,074 in 2013. (ATL (Dec 2013 traffic report), Dec 2013)
• ATL counted 540,024 aircraft operations from January to August 2026, up 0.45%. (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• Counted by fiscal year, the City puts operations at 999,128 in fiscal 2008, the peak, 923,569 in fiscal 2000 and 805,828 in fiscal 2026; air taxi and commuter flights fell from 289,955 in fiscal 2006 to 7,409 in fiscal 2026. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The City's accounts give 802,091 flight operations in fiscal 2025 (July 2024 to June 2025), up 1.4%. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• ATL has five parallel east-west runways. The longest, 9L-27R, is 12,390 feet; the others are 9,000 to 9,999 feet. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

ATL counts aircraft operations as take-offs and landings by airlines, air taxis, general aviation and the military, by calendar year. ACI World's 807,625 movements and ATL's 805,268 operations for 2025 are different counts and are each named; neither stands in for the other. Fiscal-year figures from the City's accounts and bond disclosure run July to June and are not set against the calendar-year counts.

How much cargo goes through Atlanta airport?

Atlanta handles between about 580,000 and 735,000 tonnes of cargo a year, much of it in the holds of Delta passenger planes. Cargo has not grown since 2012, and the airport handled more in 2000.

View data table

Cargo handled at ATL each calendar year, freight, express and mail, in thousand metric tonnes, on the airport's own count. Each year comes from the December report for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2012	654k t
2013	616k t
2014	601k t
2015	626k t
2016	649k t
2017	691k t
2018	694k t
2019	639k t
2020	599k t
2021	735k t
2022	689k t
2023	579k t
2024	646k t
2025	640k t

• Freight and express made up 617,109 tonnes of ATL's calendar 2025 cargo, down 2.36%, and mail 23,385 tonnes, up 69.03%. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Delta handled 151,714 tonnes of ATL freight in calendar 2025, ahead of FedEx with 75,411 tonnes, UPS with 58,069 and Air Transport International with 51,010. (ATL (Dec 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• May was ATL's busiest cargo month of calendar 2025, with 59,332 tonnes, up 9.37%. (ATL (May 2025 traffic report), Feb 2026)
• Cargo rose 11.48% to 645,834 tonnes in calendar 2024. (ATL (Dec 2024 traffic report), Jan 2025)
• Cargo fell 15.87% to 579,331 tonnes in calendar 2023. (ATL (Dec 2023 traffic report), Feb 2024)
• Cargo was 688,614 tonnes in calendar 2022, down 6.28%. (ATL (Dec 2022 traffic report), Jan 2023)
• Cargo rose 22.63% to 734,771 tonnes in calendar 2021, the most in the airport's reports for 2012 to 2025. (ATL (Dec 2021 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• Cargo fell 6.27% to 599,179 tonnes in calendar 2020, a far smaller fall than in passengers. (ATL (Dec 2020 traffic report), Mar 2022)
• Cargo fell 7.86% to 639,276 tonnes in calendar 2019. (ATL (Dec 2019 traffic report), Feb 2020)
• ATL handled 693,790 tonnes of cargo in calendar 2018, up 0.36%. (ATL (Dec 2018 traffic report), Feb 2019)
• Cargo rose 6.58% to 691,269 tonnes in calendar 2017. (ATL (Dec 2017 traffic report), Apr 2018)
• ATL handled 654,013 tonnes of cargo in calendar 2012 and 616,365 tonnes in 2013. (ATL (Dec 2013 traffic report), Dec 2013)
• In August 2026 ATL handled 56,664 tonnes of cargo, up 5.36%. (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• From January to August 2026 cargo rose 2.40% to 434,034 tonnes, and freight and express rose 1.81% to 415,560 tonnes. (ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report), Sep 2026)
• ATL ranked 13th among US airports for air cargo in 2025 on ACI-NA figures, which put it at 894 thousand tonnes in 2000. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure, ACI-NA data), Aug 2026)
• Cargo-only aircraft landed 2,864,017,498 lb at ATL in calendar 2025, down 1.98%, 15th among US airports on FAA figures. (FAA (CY2025 all-cargo landed weight), Sep 2026)

ATL reports cargo in metric tonnes by calendar year, with freight and express shown apart from mail; the full-year total includes both. Its December 2025 report prints a rise for the 2025 total that does not match its own figures, so no growth rate is given for 2025 cargo. Fiscal-year cargo from the City's bond disclosure runs July to June. The FAA's landed weight is the weight of cargo-only aircraft landing, not cargo handled, and leaves out cargo carried on passenger planes.

How many passengers board flights at Atlanta?

Around half of Atlanta's passengers are boarding and the rest are arriving. On the FAA's count of passengers boarding, Atlanta is the busiest US airport in every FAA file from 2000 to 2025, and it is still below its 2019 peak.

View data table

FAA enplanements at ATL in selected calendar years, in millions. Each year comes from the FAA release for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2000	39.3m
2005	42.4m
2008	43.8m
2010	43.1m
2015	49.3m
2019	53.5m
2020	20.6m
2021	36.7m
2022	45.4m
2023	51.0m
2024	52.5m
2025	51.5m

• Dallas/Fort Worth was second in calendar 2025 with 41,297,009 enplanements and Chicago O'Hare third with 40,680,735. (FAA (CY2025 enplanements), Sep 2026)
• ATL's FAA enplanements rose 3.06% to 52,511,402 in calendar 2024. (FAA (CY2024 enplanements), Sep 2025)
• They rose 12.23% to 50,950,068 in calendar 2023. (FAA (CY2023 enplanements), Oct 2024)
• Enplanements were 45,396,001 in calendar 2022, up 23.78%. (FAA (CY2022 enplanements), Sep 2023)
• They rose 78.39% to 36,676,010 in calendar 2021. (FAA (CY2021 enplanements), Sep 2022)
• Enplanements fell 61.57% to 20,559,866 in calendar 2020. (FAA (CY2020 enplanements), Nov 2021)
• They peaked at 53,505,795 in calendar 2019, up 3.16%, the highest in the FAA files from 2000 to 2025. (FAA (CY2019 enplanements), Sep 2020)
• ATL had 51,865,797 enplanements in calendar 2018, up 3.21%. (FAA (CY2018 enplanements), Dec 2019)
• Enplanements dipped 0.49% to 50,251,964 in calendar 2017. (FAA (CY2017 enplanements), Nov 2018)
• They rose 5.87% to 49,340,732 in calendar 2015. (FAA (CY2015 enplanements), Oct 2016)
• Enplanements fell 1.07% to 45,308,407 in calendar 2013. (FAA (CY2013 enplanements), Jan 2015)
• ATL had 43,130,585 enplanements in calendar 2010, up 2.01%. (FAA (CY2010 enplanements), Oct 2011)
• Enplanements fell 3.38% to 42,280,868 in calendar 2009, a recession year. (FAA (CY2009 enplanements), Nov 2010)
• ATL had 43,761,280 enplanements in calendar 2008, up 1.21%. (FAA (CY2008 enplanements), Dec 2009)
• Enplanements rose 3.11% to 42,402,653 in calendar 2005. (FAA (CY2005 enplanements), 2006)
• ATL had 37,181,068 enplanements in calendar 2001, the year of the 11 September attacks. (FAA (CY2001 enplanements), Dec 2002)
• The FAA counted 39,277,901 enplanements at ATL in calendar 2000, first among US airports. (FAA (CY2000 enplanements), Oct 2001)
• The City's 2026 bond disclosure gives ATL 53.1 million enplaned passengers in calendar 2025, 11.8 million (29%) more than Dallas/Fort Worth, and 55.2 million in 2019, on a different basis from the FAA's. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The City's accounts count passengers boarding by fiscal year: 54,531,948 in fiscal 2019, 24,928,472 in fiscal 2021 and 53,681,363 in fiscal 2024. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• 53,048,861 passengers boarded at ATL in fiscal 2026 (July 2025 to June 2026), according to the City's bond disclosure. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)

The FAA counts passengers boarding (enplanements) from its Air Carrier Activity Information System, by calendar year. The City's bond disclosure (53.1 million for 2025) and its accounts and airline tables (fiscal years, July to June, 53.4 million in fiscal 2025) count boardings on other bases, so the three are each named and not compared. Boardings are roughly half of the airport's total passengers and are not compared with total-passenger counts.

How punctual are flights at Atlanta?

Flights into Atlanta were more punctual than the US average in 2025 on BTS figures. Late-arriving aircraft are a major cause of delays.

View data table

Share of domestic flights by US airlines arriving at ATL on time each year, on BTS figures.

Period	Value
2004	72.9%
2005	71.9%
2006	71.9%
2007	74.4%
2008	75.5%
2009	72.6%
2010	78.8%
2011	80.3%
2012	84.7%
2013	80.9%
2014	81.2%
2015	84.4%
2016	86.3%
2017	84.4%
2018	83.7%
2019	85.1%
2020	87.4%
2021	88.0%
2022	82.4%
2023	82.4%
2024	81.6%
2025	79.6%

• 1.55% of domestic flights arriving at ATL were cancelled in 2025, against 1.53% nationally, and 0.28% were diverted. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• Late-arriving aircraft delayed 7.68% of ATL arrivals in 2025, airline causes 5.31%, the National Aviation System 4.84% and weather 0.69%. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• In BTS figures for 2025, on-time arrival rates at major US airports included Salt Lake City (84.32%), Los Angeles (80.44%) and Minneapolis-St Paul (80.16%). (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• ATL's most punctual year was 2021, with 87.98% of arrivals on time; it was 86.29% in 2016 and 72.89% in 2004. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• In 2004 National Aviation System delays hit 15.31% of ATL arrivals. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• ATL's cancellation rate peaked at 4.69% in 2020, the first pandemic year, after 3.37% in 2005; it was 0.61% in 2016. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• From January to August 2026, 78.69% of arrivals at ATL were on time, against 74.66% nationally, and 2.14% were cancelled, against 2.27%; a year earlier ATL's figures were 77.84% and 1.63%. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)
• July 2026 was ATL's worst month of the year so far, with 69.09% on time and 1.03% diverted, and April the best, with 84.73%; in January 2026 5.03% of arrivals were cancelled. (US DOT BTS (on-time statistics), Nov 2026)

BTS counts domestic flights by US reporting airlines that arrive less than 15 minutes late; foreign airlines and international flights are left out. The list of reporting airlines changes over time, and 2020 and 2021 had far fewer flights. Delay causes are shares of arriving flights. BTS gives no reasons for single months.

How does Atlanta airport make and spend its money?

The City of Atlanta's Department of Aviation runs the airport and pays for it from airline charges, parking, shops and other airport income. Parking brings in more than any other single line of operating revenue.

View data table

The airport's operating revenue by fiscal year (July to June), in $ million, from the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation's annual financial report.

Period	Value
FY2016	$487m
FY2017	$498m
FY2018	$525m
FY2019	$569m
FY2020	$442m
FY2021	$354m
FY2022	$379m
FY2023	$508m
FY2024	$682m
FY2025	$738m

• The Department of Aviation says the airport receives no money from the City's general fund or from property taxes. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Operating revenue was $682.1 million in fiscal 2024 and $508.3 million in fiscal 2023. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Airlines paid a direct cost of $4.48 per passenger boarding in fiscal 2025, up from $3.93; the all-in cost, which adds charges paid to third-party facility operators, was $7.84. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The direct cost per boarding passenger was $2.81 in fiscal 2019, $5.71 in fiscal 2021 and $1.04 in fiscal 2022, when federal COVID-19 relief grants covered airfield costs. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Non-airline revenue was $7.81 per passenger boarding in fiscal 2025 and total revenue $13.82; the signatory landing fee was $1.4106 per 1,000 lb of landed weight. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Parking brought in $180.3 million in fiscal 2025, against $165.8 million in fiscal 2024; terminal concessions raised $129.9 million, car rentals $55.2 million and ground transportation $13.9 million, for total concession revenue of $380.7 million. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Landing fees raised $89.3 million in fiscal 2025, and terminal rentals $160.5 million after $100.6 million of credits to airlines. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Passenger facility charges raised $203.4 million in fiscal 2025, and rental-car customer facility charges $38.8 million gross. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Operating expenses were $842.6 million in fiscal 2025, including $355.9 million of depreciation and amortisation, for an operating loss of $104.5 million; net position still rose $191.1 million. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

All figures in this section are for fiscal years, July to June, from the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation's annual financial report, and are not compared with calendar-year traffic. Cost per passenger boarding uses the airport's own definitions, and the all-in figure is partly estimated. The statistical tables are unaudited.

What is ATL spending on new facilities, and how much debt does it have?

The City's capital plan for the airport, branded ATLNext, is paid for with bonds, passenger charges, federal grants and airport money. The airport's bond debt, and its debt per passenger, are higher than before the pandemic.

• General airport revenue bonds $2,152m
• Passenger facility charge bonds $1,380m
• Customer facility charge bonds $89m

• In May 2016 the City and the signatory airlines agreed a 20-year plan of capital projects worth $6.16 billion in July 2014 dollars. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• At 30 June 2025 the airport had $3.6 billion of bonds outstanding: $2,152,310,000 of general airport revenue bonds, $1,379,640,000 of passenger facility charge bonds and $89,075,000 of customer facility charge bonds, maturing up to 1 July 2053. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Outstanding debt per passenger boarding was $74.09 in fiscal 2025, against $44.32 in fiscal 2019 and a peak of $115.02 in fiscal 2021; debt service was $3.20 per passenger boarding. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Net revenues covered general airport revenue bond debt service 1.74 times in fiscal 2025, against 2.58 times in fiscal 2024. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The airport's capital assets, net, were $8.8 billion at 30 June 2025, up from $8.0 billion a year earlier. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• As of 1 July 2026 the City had issued $1.6 billion of green bonds for airport projects, and its 2026 bond sale included $359,205,000 more. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• Airport property has a replacement value of more than $10.5 billion, and the City's short-term borrowing capacity for the airport was $1.3 billion on 1 July 2026. (City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure), Aug 2026)
• The Plane Train extension adds 14 driverless vehicles, for a fleet of 73, and lifts capacity from 10,000 to 12,000 passengers per hour in each direction. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

The $13.1 billion plan to fiscal 2032 and the $6.16 billion agreed in 2016 are on different price bases and cover different periods, so they are not compared. Debt and coverage figures are fiscal-year figures from the City's accounts, and coverage is calculated by the airport on its own basis. In fiscal 2022 and 2023 COVID relief grants paid the airport's debt service.

How many jobs does Atlanta airport support?

The airport is one of the largest workplaces in Georgia, and Delta is metro Atlanta's largest private employer. The jobs and economic impact figures are the airport's own estimates, and its annual report does not say how or when they were made.

• The airport estimates its total payroll at $4.5 billion a year. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• It estimates its direct impact on regional business revenue at more than $46.9 billion a year, and indirect and induced effects at $35.5 billion. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Including those effects, the airport puts its total economic impact at $82.4 billion a year. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• Delta Air Lines was metro Atlanta's largest private employer in 2024, with 40,000 employees, up from 30,000 in 2013, according to a table in the airport's annual report. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

These are estimates published by the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation, not independent figures, and the economic impact study behind them is not named in the annual report. Delta's 40,000 covers the whole metro area, including jobs away from the airport.

How many guns are found at Atlanta airport?

TSA officers find more firearms at Atlanta's checkpoints than at any other US airport. Finds rose sharply in 2021 and have stayed high since.

View data table

Firearms found at ATL security checkpoints each year, on TSA figures. Each year comes from the TSA release for that year; the link is to the latest one.

Period	Value
2019	323
2020	220
2021	507
2022	448
2023	451
2024	440

• TSA found 6,678 firearms at checkpoints across the US in 2024. ATL's finds were 220 in 2020, 448 in 2022 and 451 in 2023. (TSA (Georgia firearm finds 2024), Jan 2025)
• ATL set a national single-airport record in 2021 with 507 firearms found at checkpoints, against 323 in 2019. (TSA (Georgia firearm finds 2021), Jan 2022)

TSA counts firearms found in carry-on bags at security checkpoints, by calendar year. No full-year 2025 figure for ATL was on the TSA site when this page was reviewed.

How do people get to and around Atlanta airport?

Atlanta's airport has its own MARTA rail station, now the busiest in the system, and more than 30,000 public parking spaces. Inside, an underground train links the terminals and concourses.

1. 1 Walkable decks 14,423
2. 2 Park-ride shuttle 8,948
3. 3 Decks reached by train 5,772
4. 4 Walkable economy 1,582

• MARTA says its Airport station has become the most-used station in its rail system; before the pandemic Five Points held that place. (MARTA (FY2025 budget book), Oct 2024)
• Average daily entries at Airport station in February 2024 were 76.2% of their February 2020 level, the strongest recovery of any MARTA station; Indian Creek was second at 72.2%. (MARTA (FY2025 budget book), Oct 2024)
• MARTA reopened Airport station in May 2024 after a six-week closure for a $55 million upgrade. (MARTA (FY2025 budget book), Oct 2024)
• The airport has 30,725 public parking spaces: 14,423 in walkable decks, 1,582 walkable economy spaces, 5,772 deck spaces reached by train and 8,948 park-ride shuttle spaces. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The 67.5-acre Rental Car Center has more than 8,700 parking spaces and 12 rental brands. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The underground Plane Train runs 59 vehicles on a 4.0-mile loop with 16 stations, and each four-car train carries about 300 passengers. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The terminal complex covers about 7.7 million square feet, with 155 domestic and 43 international gates across concourses T, A, B, C, D, E and F. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• There are more than 386 concession outlets, including 162 for food and drink, 140 for retail and convenience and 2 duty-free stores. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)
• The airport covers 4,700 acres and is 10 miles from downtown Atlanta. (City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report), Mar 2026)

MARTA's statements come from its FY2025 budget book, which gives station rankings and recovery rates but no daily ridership count for Airport station. Parking and facility figures are the airport's own, from its FY2025 annual financial report.

Methodology and sources

Figures come from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International's own monthly traffic reports, the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation's annual financial report, the City's 2026 airport bond disclosure, ACI World, the FAA, the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the TSA and MARTA. Each figure links to the body that produced it, with the date. Calendar-year traffic reports and fiscal-year (July to June) accounts are labelled every time and never share a chart. ATL's aircraft operations and ACI's movements are kept apart, as are the FAA's enplanements and the City's two boarding counts, cargo tonnes and cargo aircraft landed weight, and passengers and scheduled seats. Jobs and economic impact figures are the airport's own estimates. Where we sorted or compared a producer's data, the text says so. The page is reviewed monthly and the date is shown at the top.

• ACI World (2020 rankings) · Apr 2021
• ACI World (2021 rankings) · Apr 2022
• ACI World (2022 rankings) · Apr 2023
• ACI World (2023 rankings) · Jul 2024
• ACI World (2025 preliminary rankings) · Apr 2026
• ACI World (2025 rankings) · Jul 2026
• ACI World (traffic report 2021) · Nov 2021
• ATL (Apr 2026 traffic report) · Aug 2026
• ATL (Aug 2026 traffic report) · Sep 2026
• ATL (Dec 2013 traffic report) · Dec 2013
• ATL (Dec 2014 traffic report) · Dec 2014
• ATL (Dec 2015 traffic report) · Dec 2015
• ATL (Dec 2016 traffic report) · Feb 2017
• ATL (Dec 2017 traffic report) · Apr 2018
• ATL (Dec 2018 traffic report) · Feb 2019
• ATL (Dec 2019 traffic report) · Feb 2020
• ATL (Dec 2020 traffic report) · Mar 2022
• ATL (Dec 2021 traffic report) · Mar 2022
• ATL (Dec 2022 traffic report) · Jan 2023
• ATL (Dec 2023 traffic report) · Feb 2024
• ATL (Dec 2024 traffic report) · Jan 2025
• ATL (Feb 2025 traffic report) · Feb 2026
• ATL (Feb 2026 traffic report) · Sep 2026
• ATL (Jan 2026 traffic report) · Sep 2026
• ATL (Jul 2025 traffic report) · Feb 2026
• ATL (Jul 2026 traffic report) · Aug 2026
• ATL (Jun 2026 traffic report) · Aug 2026
• ATL (Mar 2026 traffic report) · Sep 2026
• ATL (May 2025 traffic report) · Feb 2026
• ATL (May 2026 traffic report) · Aug 2026
• ATL (Nov 2025 traffic report) · Feb 2026
• ATL (traffic reports 2012-2025) · Feb 2026
• City of Atlanta (2026 bond disclosure) · Aug 2026
• City of Atlanta (FY2025 annual financial report) · Mar 2026
• FAA (CY2000 enplanements) · Oct 2001
• FAA (CY2001 enplanements) · Dec 2002
• FAA (CY2005 enplanements) · 2006
• FAA (CY2008 enplanements) · Dec 2009
• FAA (CY2009 enplanements) · Nov 2010
• FAA (CY2010 enplanements) · Oct 2011
• FAA (CY2013 enplanements) · Jan 2015
• FAA (CY2015 enplanements) · Oct 2016
• FAA (CY2017 enplanements) · Nov 2018
• FAA (CY2018 enplanements) · Dec 2019
• FAA (CY2019 enplanements) · Sep 2020
• FAA (CY2020 enplanements) · Nov 2021
• FAA (CY2021 enplanements) · Sep 2022
• FAA (CY2022 enplanements) · Sep 2023
• FAA (CY2023 enplanements) · Oct 2024
• FAA (CY2024 enplanements) · Sep 2025
• FAA (CY2025 all-cargo landed weight) · Sep 2026
• FAA (CY2025 enplanements) · Sep 2026
• MARTA (FY2025 budget book) · Oct 2024
• TSA (Georgia firearm finds 2021) · Jan 2022
• TSA (Georgia firearm finds 2024) · Jan 2025
• US DOT BTS (on-time statistics) · Nov 2026